I learned a new word: Skeuomorphism

Despite being a no-talent hack when it comes to web design I still try to keep up with web design innovations, tricks, and trends. An article came across my Feedly queue today titled, The Flat Design Era. Interested enough in the title, I decided to investigate it further.

Flat Design is all about simplicity. Simple color palate. Simple design elements. Remove 3D. Remove shadows. Get the idea? Read the article for more details and examples.

Further down the article, after the examples of flat design, was the heading, What About Skeuomorphism? which was followed up with a “Skeuowhat?” (My thoughts, exactly). According to the article, “skeuomorphism is basically the way designs often borrow a particular feature from the past, even when the functional need for it is gone.”

Examples of skeuomorphism include many familiar Apple products, such as iBooks or iTunesU with the cliche bookshelf at the heart of the design. For more examples, play around with this interactive infographic: